This book offers students an accessible and applied introduction to microeconomics in tourism and hospitality through a comprehensive analysis of the market mechanism, demand and supply, firm behavior and strategy, and transaction and institution.
This book not only helps students to master core microeconomic theories that are essential for understanding the tourism and hospitality industry, but, more importantly, it guides students to analyze consumer behavior and firm strategy specific to the industry. Throughout the book, readers are guided to develop the economic analysis of tourism and hospitality that progresses from economic intuition to graphical representation and to mathematical quantification. Carefully corralled case studies showcase the applications of key microeconomic theories in solving a wide range of real-world problems, including Uber's surge pricing, Airbnb's supply adjustment, and McDonald's and Burger King vying for prime locations. This book is written in an accessible style, illustrated with exquisite diagrams, and enriched with a range of other features, such as chapter summaries, review questions, and further readings to aid readers' further understanding.
By reading this book, students will be able to develop an economist's way of thinking, which will enable them to analyze tourism and hospitality businesses in a rigorous and critical manner. This book is essential reading for all tourism and hospitality students and teachers.
About the Author: Yong Chen, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor at Ecole hoteliere de Lausanne (EHL), Switzerland, where he lectures on economics of tourism and hospitality. Prior to joining EHL in 2014, he was a Postdoctoral Fellow in the School of Hotel and Tourism Management at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, where he also obtained his Ph.D. in 2012. Dr. Chen's research interests include tourist behavior, tourism demand, the sharing economy, and Chinese outbound tourism. Dr. Chen's research has been published in a diverse range of reputable journals and his opinions have also appeared in CNN, CGTN, South China Morning Post, Sixth Tone, and EHL Hospitality Insights.
